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It helps to have arguably the hottest rock band on the planet closing your festival, but The Big Ticket again delivered a fantastic day of Alternative Rock music that left Jacksonville fans impressed and pleased with a full day of excellent live music highlighted by a killer set from headliners Twenty One Pilots.

Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots at The Big Ticket.

The duo from Ohio opened this festival three years ago and delivered one of the most memorable early sets in memory. Now, on a beautiful Sunday a few years later, they’re closing the night out, but still delivering quality music and a spectacular show.

Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, the talented duo from Ohio, are dedicated musicians hell bent on constantly refining and improving their stage show. Sunday night, we saw them flying across the stage, leaping into the crowd and climbing the stage trusses. And, all the while delivering their distinctive brand of rock music that is absolutely embraced by their passionate fans.

Most of the bands were well-received by the diverse crowd, but talking to concert-goers as they departed (or sat forever in the parking lot traffic), it was clear that the other crowd favorites included Walk The Moon, Robert Delong, Coleman Hell and X Ambassadors.

Robert Delong killing it at The Big Ticket.

(Make sure you Like our Facebook Page, as we will have band-by-band recaps and photos from every artist posted over the next couple of days for our loyal Facebook followers)

I’ve been to several prior Big Ticket festivals in the past, and don’t ever remember a line-up as talented as this years. Simply put, from the opening island-infused notes of Colorado’s Lola Rising to the thunderous close of Twenty One Pilots, there was no let down on either stage.

I have to confess that more than a few people were frustrated with the new stage arrangement, including myself. With both stages side-by-side, there was a constant sea of people rolling back and forth across the blanket covered fields. Although the idea of two stages fairly close has some merit, these two stages were too close.

The Big Ticket crowd enjoying the music.

On another positive note, the vendors and food stands were excellent, Despite a Sold Out crowd in attendance, the lines at the many food vendors never got out of control and there was tremendous diversity.

But, the truth is, everything other than the music pales in importance when compared to the artists who graced the stage, and on this wonderful day in Jacksonville, the 2015 incarnation of The Big Ticket nailed it. Kudos to X102.9 and Danny Wimmer Presents for another excellent event!

Remember to Follow/Like Us as we’ll have plenty more to cover from The Big Ticket in the next week.

Rock On!
Cretin

Photos from the event on our Facebook (we will add more as they become available):Twenty One Pilots

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The Big Orlando Alt-Rock Festival

After a few years of watching the season’s best alt-rock festivals hit Jacksonville and Tampa, we finally get to see this killer line-up make a stop at Orlando. This is something we hoped for when we heard that X107.3 was coming to Orlando, and couldn’t be happier to see this come to fruition (See our prediction here).

Make sure you Follow our Twitter below, and Like our Facebook to the right for updates on this event and all Central Florida rock concerts

December 7th will be the date which will live in infamy for Orlando rockers. The headliners are a great cross-section of artists spanning the alternative rock scene over the past twenty years. We will get to see two RARA’s Farm favorites, Weezer and Dirty Heads, as well as other stalwarts who we have not caught live yet: Fall Out Boy, Young The Giant, J Roddy, Big Data, Bear Hands, Twin Atlantic, Islander, and more. J. Roddy, Bear Hands and Big Data are three acts we are anxious to see.

The venue for the first annual edition of The Big Orlando festival is the Central Florida Fairgrounds. I absolutely love the Metropolitan Park venue for the Big Ticket in Jacksonville and am curious to see how the The Big Orlando stacks up. And, how long before local fans shorten this to the Big “O”?

“After four years of success with X102.9 in Jacksonville and The Big Ticket, I am very excited to launch this new festival with Cox Media’s new alternative station X107.3 and AEG Live. We look forward to bringing an incredible alternative festival to Orlando,” says The Big Orlando producer Danny Wimmer of Danny Wimmer Presents.

For those of you interested, the Jacksonville festival, The Big Ticket, which is one of the best run festivals we’ve experienced in the past, is being held on Friday December 5th. Very similar line-up, but substitute Alt-J, Chevelle and New Politics for Young The Giant, Twin Atlantic and Islander. Sounds like a nice long weekend, eh?

Ticket Information

A special discounted presale for The Big Orlando runs from Friday, September 19 at 10:00 AM ET through Sunday, September 21 at 11:59 PM ET at www.TheBigOrlando.com and all Ticketmaster outlets. Military discounts are also available as noted below. The presale offers a limited number of general admission and VIP tickets at discounted prices as follows (plus fees):

General Admission: $34.50
VIP: $89.50

Regularly priced general admission and VIP tickets go on sale Monday, September 22 at 12:00 AM Eastern Time at www.TheBigOrlando.com. Ticket prices will be as follows until September 29, when prices will increase:

General Admission: $39.50
VIP: $89.50
4-Pack: $119.00

VIP tickets include: a VIP entrance to venue; access to VIP lounge area featuring dedicated bar, beverage and food service; viewing of main stage (seated and standing areas); seated area with shade for dining; private restroom facilities; and a VIP guest laminate.

Ticket discounts will also be available for active military through The Big Orlando partner GovX. For full details about all tickets, military ticket discounts, and VIP packages, visit: www.TheBigOrlando.com.

Central Florida Fairgrounds is located at 4603 W. Colonial Drive, only 3 miles west of downtown Orlando. The Fairgrounds are set on 87 acres with ample free parking and a Lynx Bus stop at the main entrance.

Links

Below are all of the links that you’ll need, but do us a favor, please, and Like / Follow Us first for continued coverage of The Big Orlando, and all things that rock!

December Rock Music Calendar

Our typical slow December doldrums are upon us, but a few great shows. The Thermals and Alabama Shakes hit all of the cities in our coverage area, but the big events are two festivals with tremendous line-ups the weekend of 12/7 and 12/8 in Tampa and Jacksonville areas. Get the details below.

12/15 – Goo Goo Dolls, House of Blues. A boy named Goo headlines the Mix 105.1 All I Want For Christmas show.

12/19 – Tegan and Sara, Plaza Live Orlando

12/20 – Thomas Wynn & The Believers, Jessie’s (Winter Haven)

12/28 – The Supervillains, The West End (Sanford)
12/28 – Blaine the Mono, Violet, Leaving Haven, and Maybe If You Hit It, House of Blues. Blaine the Mono has free tickets for the show, and all Blaine proceeds are being donated to the Fight for Ryder Foundation.

12/08 – The Big Ticket Festival Presented by X102.9. We attended this festival in 2012 and it is just a great event (check out this review for a taste), and again features a killer line-up. This is a can’t miss show, Jacksonville! Stone Temple Pilots, Thirty Seconds to Mars, A Day To Remember, Jimmy Eat World, Dirty Heads, Pepper, Manchester Orchestra, Twenty One Pilots, Sleeping With Sirens, The 1975, Saints of Valory, and the absolutely amazing Frank Turner!

12/08 – Huey Lewis and the News, Florida Theatre. See a recent concert review of Huey for a taste of what is in store.

As I’ve noted in my two prior articles, when I first saw the line-up for the Big Ticket Festival, I had lofty expectations. I had covered about half of the acts previously and was a big fan of each. As it turned out, the bands I was familiar with all delivered what I expected, but I was amazed by how good the rest of the acts were. Here’s a quick peek at each band in the order they played. (All of the bold text link to related material).

Sunbears! – This duo had a chance to play in their hometown of Jacksonville. We arrived just at the tail end of their set and they sounded good, in front of a decent crowd. I’d describe their sound as a modern blend of psychedelic rock, but take that for what it is worth as I only heard a small sample. Sunbears Photos

Paper Tongues – Our first nice surprise of the night. I was aware of these guys out of Charlotte but didn’t know much about their music. They seem to have a bit of a cult following in Florida, and after seeing them perform live I totally get it. Lead singer Aswan North just reeks charisma, which is matched by their leopard clad bassist, Daniel Santell. The entire band sounded great and got a rousing welcome from the crowd. The highlight was North singing “Trinity” from the crowd. Next time these guys are in the neighborhood, I need to see them. Paper Tongues Photos

Whole Wheat Bread – Another band with local ties, these three guys also hail from Jacksonville. They have a unique sound, sort of a mainstream Southern Rock Alt-Rock thing from the inner city, and it works! The crowd was grooving to the trio that reminded me of Lenny Kravitz with more of a funk groove. Bass player, Willy, won the award for best dreads at the festival. Whole Wheat Bread Photos

Grouplove – I had great expectations for this LA Band, as their Never Trust A Happy Song was our #2 Ranked album of 2011(that’s right, we knew they’d be special long ago). Still, they blew me away. All three lead vocalists sounded great, the music was superb and they just put on a damn good show. They immediately amped the energy level with a great version of their current hit “Itchin’ On a Photograph” and offered up a great ukulele driven version of “Spun,” before closing with a killer version of “Colours.” Oh, and they sneaked in a version of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” Cool, cool stuff. Grouplove Photos

Twenty | One | Pilots – True confession – these guys opened for a band recently at HOB – Orlando, and I skipped their set when I saw they wore skeleton suits on stage and dismissed them as a gimmick act. Sometimes, I’m an idiot. These two guys are tremendous entertainers and musicians. Lead singer Tyler Joseph plays organ and is accompanied on stage by drummer Josh Dun. The music was good, Joseph interacted with the crowd the entire set and was a madman – singing one song from the speaker stack, one from the scaffolding in the middle of the crowd and the finale from the Griswold Family Winnebago next to the stage. Not to be outdone, Dun uncorked an impressive back flip off of the speakers onto the stage as they wrapped up the show. One hell of an entertaining set. Twenty One Pilots Photos

Of Monsters And Men – I caught the band in Orlando two nights before the Festival and thought their show was great. Shorter set, Festival mode, this day, but still very impressed. These guys had a slew of their peers watching from back stage and did not disappoint. Their names are impossible to remember (and pronounce), so check out our earlier review for the particulars, but the vocals and the music are superb. They started with a great version of “Dirty Paws” and featured some fun interactive versions of “Mountain Sound” and “Lakehouse.” Was wondering what the Icelanders were thinking of the toasty Jacksonville weather… Of Monsters And Men Photos

The Joy Formidable – This Welsh trio sure delivers a big sound. Singer and guitarist Ritzy Bryan was a whirling dervish and had great chemistry with animated bassist Rhydian Dafydd. Good, energetic set that was highlighted by a fantastic closing version of “Whirring.” The Joy Formidable Photos

Silversun Pickups – Love the band’s sound, but wasn’t sure how their layered perfection would translate into a festival atmosphere. Bottom line, the sound was superb, despite the absence of bass player Nikki Monninger who was home preparing to give birth. Brian Aubert’s voice was pristine and dominated the performance Not the most exciting stage show, but the setlist was great, featuring “Bloody Mary,” “The Pit,” “Panic Switch” and a rocking extended version of “Lazy Eye.” Silversun Pickups Photos

Flogging Molly – One of my favorite live bands ever, and they actually disappointed a bit this show, but I had set the bar pretty high. I wasn’t crazy about their set list, but perhaps that is because I am used to them having twice as long to play. There were still some great moments. Loved “The Likes of You Again,” and really enjoyed the tin whistle and Dylan cover of “The Times They are A-changin.” Bassist Nathan Maxwell absolutely tore it up during a rollicking version of “Saints and Sinners.” Flogging Molly Photos

Fun. – I was curious about these guys, not sure what to expect. I knew that every teen chick within 100 miles was there to see Nate Ruess, which made me a bit skeptical, but I also knew that their album, Some Nights is masterful. To put it simply, I was impressed. Ruess is a charismatic guy who sounded excellent, and the band (which doubles in size for their road show) was spot on. “Some Nights” and “Gets Better” were great, for the band who opened the festival just last year. Good stuff! Fun. Photos

Anberlin – Yet another local band. These guys closed out the day at The Jagermeister Side Stage in grand fashion. Front man Stephen Christian had the crowd engaged throughout and the band offered up some nice punk pop with a Christian touch. Their six song set was highlighted by “Little Tyrants” and a killer version of “Someone, Anyone.” Anberlin Photos

Chris Traynor of Bush at The Big Ticket Festival

Bush – From the moment the spotlight hit Chris Traynor for the opening guitar riff of “Machinehead” you knew this was going to be a special set. Twenty years after founding the band, Gavin Rossdale and Bush are just getting back into their rhythm after a seven year hiatus. The music was impeccable and Rossdale, sounding great, put on a great show. They played all of their hits in a show highlighted by one of their more marginal hits, “The Afterlife,” during which Rossdale raced through the packed crowd, singing from a few different spots on the field. Immediately after he returned to the stage, his band mates left him alone for a stark solo version of “Glycerine,” which was the best song of the entire festival. They closed with a rousing version of “Comedown” leaving the rocking crowd thirsting for more. Bush Photos

Rise Against – OK, this didn’t work out well for us. Due to the bands falling slightly behind schedule, and our 150 mile ride home, I had to split before Rise Against took the stage to close the night. Based on Tweets I received, I can share that they opened with “Survive” and closed with “Savior.” I also heard they did a nice acoustic version of “Swing Life Away.”

So, there you have it ten hours of great rock ‘n roll, 13 bands, and one incredibly well-oiled festival. Already looking forward to the 2013 version!

We’d love to hear what you thought about the show – leave your thoughts in the Comments section below.

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Over the past twenty-plus years, I’ve been a rock music junkie, attending many hundreds of rock shows and festivals all along the East Coast. But, I’m not sure I ever witnessed as much good music in one day as I caught at The Big Ticket on the riverfront in Jacksonville. X102.9 is Jacksonville’s New Rock Alternative, and they delivered a talented diverse line-up that was damn near perfect for Alternative Rock fans.

The festival featured Alt-Rock legends Bush and Rise Against and some of today’s hottest new acts, such as FUN. Grouplove and Of Monsters And Men, as well as a handful of local rockers. The Met Park venue was set-up perfectly, with music alternating seamlessly between the two primary stages.

The Main Stage was packed with can’t miss acts the entire day, and no one disappointed. I was just as impressed with the diverse line-up playing the Jagermeister Side Stage; – Rarely have I seen a second stage boasting the kind of talent we were presented with, including the likes of Flogging Molly, Anberlin and the most pleasant surprise of the festival Twenty One Pilots.

We’ll get to the band-by-band recap in a bit, but first, lets focus on the festival in general.

The Big Ticket Crowd scene

We took a slew of great photos, and you can check them all out on our Facebook site. Just do us a favor and Like Us while you’re there. RARAs-Farm Facebook Page. We also offered up our Best of The Big Ticket earlier in our three part Big Ticket series, if you want to check that out.

The Metropolitan Park location was the ideal venue for a festival, with plenty of room for four stages, dozens of bands, a slew of vendors and ten thousand rabid rock music fans. It didn’t suck that the weather on the riverfront was absolutely perfect either. Met Park is one of the few places I’ve seen a show where you could “get away” for awhile if you wanted, including some nice spots on the river, and still hear the acts on the Main Stage. At the North end of the park there were two smaller stages featuring local acts and numerous merchandise booths offering a kicked back festival feel.

The bands alternated between the Main Stage and Side Stage impeccably, with there rarely being a break of more than few minutes. The only exception was a twenty minute delay for Grouplove that may have been the result of a wiring issue. The stages were set-up close enough that a few thousand fans could literally just rotate 45 degrees, twice an hour to catch non-stop fantastic performances.

The Side Stage featured a bit more of aggressive Alt-Rock, and leaned towards the punk side. Flogging Molly, Anberlin and Joy Formidable all had the crowd bouncing. The earlier acts on the stage were also entertaining and well-received by the crowd. Whole Wheat Bread, The Sunbears and the aforementioned Twenty | One | Pilots all had the crowd engaged, as well. Tyler Joseph was a mad man and one of the stand out performers of the day.

On the Main Stage most of the performances were exceptional. Paper Tongues immediately got things started with an energetic, animated performance. One of many bands with Jacksonville or Florida roots, they engaged the crowd as much as any band throughout the day. Grouplove and Of Monsters And Men followed up with great sets that had the crowd dancing and singing along, and Silversun Pickups sounded superb.

The Main Stage closed with three great sets. An incredibly well-received set from Fun, sounded as good as their richly layered recorded material and Nate Geuss was thoroughly entertaining. Gavin Rossdale was all over the venue, and disappeared into the crow a few times during Bush’s set. Then, Rise Against, delivered a powerful set to close out the night. The sound quality was superb all day from both stages, and did not suffer at all from the outdoor locale.

It was a near perfect line-up in a fantastic venue on a spectacular day, run exceptionally well by X102.9 and the promoters. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Our first trip to The Big Ticketand damn were we impressed. An absolutely great line-up, and everything ran fantastically well. We have a slew of excellent pictures and lots of material to share over the next few days. Like us on Facebook to keep up with all of our photos and Follow us on Twitter for updates.

In the meantime, here’s our Best of Listing for our first Big Ticket experience:

Song of the Day – “Glycerine” by Bush. Immediately after running through the crowd, Gavin Rossdale comes back on stage and plays this cut off of Sixteen Stone, unaccompanied for the first few verses – starkly spectacular The crowd sings along throughout, and the full band returns for a rousing close; a great performance of a great rock song.

Best Chill Spot – The gazebo down by the river. Soothing sounds of the water, yet still close enough to hear the bands on the Main Stage, and plenty of shade. We caught a few folks meditating when we stopped by. Cool spot, literally

Best Sounding Artist – Grouplove. Never Trust A Happy Song was one of our Top 10 albums of 2011, and the band played every song flawlessly. All three vocalists sounded great and the music was perfect. Bonus points to Andrew Wessen for the only ukulele of the day.

Best Mosh Moment – If you’ve read us before, you know we don’t love mosh pits, and thankfully not too many this day, but we did have a nice one spontaneously form during Flogging Molly’s rollicking “The Likes of You Again.” Moshing with a bit of Irish Jig tossed in.

Best Vendor – The tent right near our chill locale. Not sure of the vendor name, but they were selling psychedelic attire and classic concert merchandise. Lots of cool threads and all kinds of cool niche items.

Top Singalong moment – There were a few nice ones throughout the day, but when Fun hit the stage, the crowd was packed and in a frenzy. No surprise here, but EVERYONE sang along to We Are Young.”

Most Chatty Artist – Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots was a blast throughout his set. Constantly chatting with the crowd, he was entertaining and funny. Loved his request for the crowd to pretend they were calling the band out for an encore. Creative stuff…

Best Food – The $9 funnel cake. I hate having to buy a ticket before spending money, but for this monstrous and perfectly greased treat, it was worth the effort. Good stuff, and good for you (right?).

Crowd-pleasing Moment – There were a bunch of great sets and a few moments that really stood out, like Rossdale’s tour through the crowd or Joseph’s trip up the rafters, but I’ll go with Aswan North of Paper Tongues who jumped across the Photos pit and then Security to mix with the crowd, and they loved it.

Best Parking Spot – we grabbed the first lot we saw and may have ended up outside of Duval County. The Jaguars lot right across from the venue was much closer, the same price and had plenty of spaces, and a more vibrant tailgating feel. Sold…

Justin Bieber Moment – No doubt about it, when Fun’s Nate Reuss stepped onto the stage, my ears started bleeding from all of the high-pitched squeals, but damn can that guy sing – an excellent entertainer!

Act of the Day – As I mentioned, so many great acts to choose from, but I’m going to go with Twenty One Pilots. I already mentioned the interaction with the crowd, we also had lead singer Tyler Joseph sing one song from atop the speaker tower, another from the rafters in the center of the crowd, and the finale from the roof of the motor home next to the stage. Drummer Josh Dun was nearly as animated, and the dup were just an absolute blast their entire set.

So, that’s it for now. Lots of material still to come. Make sure you Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter for all of our Big Ticket coverage and loads of photos.

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